Chapter 11 – The First Massacre
The Ashen Mountains rose like shattered fangs—black, jagged, and cold.
At their base: a camp.
Bloodstained tents. Deep, guttural laughter.
Screams of pain, muffled by the wind.
The disciples sent by the sect had been slaughtered.
Children… villagers… hung from trees, stripped bare.
A deathly silence had settled over the land.
A freezing mist drifted into the valley.
No footsteps.
No cries.
Only Shen Mu, dressed in black, walking like a specter—alone.
The bandits, startled at first, thought it was a mistake.
They sneered and chuckled.
But their laughter died when they saw him up close.
His dark hair fell freely, contrasting with the almost glowing pallor of his skin.
His features… unreal in their perfection. Too pure for this world.
And his eyes… two bottomless abysses, calm as a dead sea, sharper than any blade.
Even the camp's women, hardened by cruelty, stood frozen.
One of them, a fallen Immortal, stepped back without knowing why.
_ "Is he… a god?"
But he was not a god.
He was a warning.
The bandit leader charged, roaring, saber raised high.
Shen Mu raised a single finger.
[Silent Hand of the Void – Activated]
The saber shattered.
The killing intent vanished.
And the bandit's body collapsed—heart emptied of all will.
The others screamed and attacked.
Shen Mu barely moved.
Each step he took, a man fell.
Each breath he released, a weapon broke.
Some begged.
Others ran.
But a voice rose—cold and final.
_"You chose chaos.
_You crossed my path.
_You will not live to regret it."
The sky darkened.
The wind died.
And the massacre began.
When it ended, nothing remained.
No recognizable corpses. No screams.
Just emptiness.
And at the center—Shen Mu, standing calmly.
[Karma purified: +7,400]
[Inner World Progress: 0.01%]
[Cultivation Level: Qi Refinement – Stage 9 Achieved]
He did not smile.
He did not speak.
He turned his back...and the heavens watched him leave with fear.